Apparatus for distilling hydrocarbon or other liquids.



S. E.. KELS'EY.

APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING HYDROCARBON OR OTHER LIQUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-.?0. 1916. 1,302,669. Patented May 6, 1919.

2 SHEETS-'TSHEET 1.

S/o'ney E /f y ATTOR EY s. E. KELSEY APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING HYDROCARBON OR OTHER LIQUIDS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20. Isms".- A

Patented May 6, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVE/V TOR. tT/f /acy A Tram/MY tlti -;with.,

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SIDNEY E. KELSEY, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

Application filed September 20, 1916. Serial No. 121,316.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIDNEY E. KnLsnY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Distilling Hydrocarbon or other" Liquids;

and I do declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for distilling hydro-carbon or other liquids and has for its principal object to efiect molecular change in compounds, such as are contained in petroleum and products resulting from the distillation of coal.

It is also an object of the invention to provide for automatic variation of the flow space of the vapor passing from the still to a condenser, by conducting the vapors over a body of suitable fluid, whereby the cross sectional area of thefiow space may be varied by ejection of the regulating fluid in accordance with the pressure of the vapor, thereby relieving the still and the channels through which the vapor is conducted.

It is also an object of the invention to provide for by-passing the vapors directly from the still to the condenser under certain conditions. r

' In carrying out the invention I have provided improved details of structure, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a perspective view of an apparatus embodying my invention and adapted for distilling liquid in accordance there- 11 is a horizontal section otthe comhine regulating and superheating'vessel on the line ii-rr, Fig. 111'.

Fig. Hl is a vertical section on the line llll-HL Fig. ll, showing the ating flulid partly expelled from the vapor channe v Fig. IV is a erspective view of one 001'- ner of the com ined regulating and superheating chamber, parts bei brokcnaway tor better illustration.

Specification of Letters Patent.

T'US FOR- DISTILLIIN'G HYDROCARBON OR OTHER LIQUIDS.

1atented May 6, 1919.

Fig. V is a longitudinal section of end portions of the still.

Fig. VI is an. enlarged lon 'tudinal section of the vapor and liquid lter.

Fig. VIIis a sectional view of parts of one of the conduits, particularly illustrating the flexible expansion joint.

Referring more in detail to the drawingsz- 1 designates a furnace, comprising the separate still and sup erheating chambers 2-3,. the still hamber being lined with refractory material (not shown), and the supcrheater chamber being open at the top and provided with a'ledge 5, for supporting a vessel presently described, the still and superhea'ter chambers being separated by a I bridge wall 6, having a passage way 6' therein through which products of combus- ,tion may pass, so that when there is fire under the superheater the products of com.- bustion may exhaust into the still chamber and heat the still.

Located in the still chamber 2 is a still 7 of any suitable construction, and leading from the top of the still, preferably adjacent to one end thereof is a feed pipe 8,-having a three way fitting 9 thereon. Opening to one connection of the fitting 9 is a pipe 10 that connects in one end of a filter case 11 containing mineral wool, or the like 12,- and opening from the upper side of said casing, is a pipe 13 that leads from the bottom of a liquid supply tank 14; the pipe 13 containing a valve 15 whereby supp y of liquid from the tank to the still may be controlled. The pipe 10 and filter 11 are inclined and leading from the end of the filter opposite the pipe 10 is a pipe 16 that is also inclined and leads to a condenser 17 which will presently be more. fully described. The filter is provided with a drain pipe 18 having a valve 18, through which accumulations in the filter may be exhausted.

The pipe 8 leads to near the bottom of the still 7, so that, the liquid to be vaporized may be delivered below the liquid level of the still and form a sea] at the lower end out pipe 8, and leading from near the top of the still, adiacent the end opposite the intake of pipe 8, is a vapor pipe 19 containing 'an expansion joint 20 wherein expansion or contraction of the vapor pipe ma take place without damage to the pipe; t c said the vessel being preferably corrugated for a purpose persently mentioned and having at its forward corners the risers 2627, provided with the intake and'deliver% ports 2829 respectively. Seated on the ottom of the vessel 23 is a duct or channel 30 preferably coiled as shown in'the drawing and wherein each individual member is of inverted U -shaped cross section, forming a duct or channel open at the bottom and closed at the sides and top, the end of the duct orchannel comprising heads 3233 that overlie the risers 26 and 27, so that vapor may be delivered through one of the risers into the duct or channel head and be delivered from the'opposite head into the opposite riser. Inclosing the duct or channel is a cover member 35, the side and end members of which seat on thebottom of the vessel 23 and the top of which is provided with a' vent stack 36 that extends upwardly through a pad of insulating material 37 that lies on the cover 35 and serves to retain heat within the chamber.

The vessel 23,- the channel or duct 30 and the cover 35 are all of suitable refractory material, and located within said vessel is a mass 38 of less refractory material such as lead, zinc, glass or the like, which when melted immerses the lower portions of the duct or channel and the sides and ends of the cover 35, and forms a sealed vapor passageway 39 in the upper portion of the duct or channel, the normal level of'said mass being below the ports 2829 of the risers 26 and 27 in order to obviate loss of the material into the risers. The vaporpipe 19 leading from the still to the well 21 has a branch 41 connecting with the riser 26 so that vapors delivered from the still may flow through the riser into the intake end of the duct or channel 30 and leading from the opposite riser 27 is the branch 42 of a pipe 43, the

lower end of which delivers to a well 44 while the body of the pipe leads upwardly to a point above the level of the still and thence is inclined downwardly to a connection with the fitting 9, so that vapors delivered from the outlet end of the duct or channel pass up through the pipe 43 and thence downwardly to the fitting, it being apparent that-any condensation in the pi e will flow either to the well 44 or into the ttin'g 9, the latter draining back into still through the pipe 8. The pipe 43 also contains a flexible expansion joint 45, and the pipe 19 and pipe 43 contain valves 46-47, whereby flow of vapor therethrough may be controlled.

Leadin through the front wall of the furnace from the header 48 are pipes 49, through which fuel may be delivered for burning in the superheating chamber 3.

The condenser 17 which I illustrate in the drawings, comprises the tank 17 and a contained coil 53, preferably of convolute form and having the gas outlet 54 and liquid outlet pipe 55 at the same end, the vapor pipe 16 leading into the center of the coil, so that the vapors pass in a circuitousroute through the coil in order to secure the cooling and condensing efi'ects.

VVhe-n the mass of heating material in the superheater vessel is at the proper temperature, the flow line 19 is opened, so that vapors may pass from the still into the 1ntake riser 26, and thence into the duct or channel 30, above the molten mass 38, it being apparent that any condensate of the vapor passes down into the well 21, and only the vapor passes into the conduit. \Vhen the vapor reaches the duct or channel it flows t-herethrough ina circuitous path until it reaches the outlet end of the conduit when it passes into the riser 29 through which it is conducted to the pipe 43 and thence into the pipe 10 through which it flows over the stream of oil passing to the still from the filter 11, and through the filter into pipe 16 and thence to the condenser, it being apparent that any condensation in the. pipe 43 will pass either to the well 44 or through the pipe 8 into the still. By passing the vapors and gasses through the mineral wool or the like in the filter 11, the heavy vapors will condense therein and flow back to the still, while lighter vapors and gases will pass on up through pipe 16 to the condenser, the vapors passing over the downflowing stream of supply fluid, so that the streams may flow in opposite directions without interfering. Should the vapors be supplied from the still to the superheater in more than the normal volume, or should the expansion in the conduit become excessive. the pressure of the vapors will force the molten mass 38 downwardly in the duct or channel at that it will flow out'beneath the lower edges of the duct or channel into the spaces between the convolutions'; thereby increasing the cross sectional area of the flow space for vapors in the duct or channel, so that it may accommodate the greater volume of vapor and relieve the duct or channel, the still and the conduits from excessive pressure, it being apparent that the fluidity of the molten mass provides the automatic regulation of cross sectional area in the duct or channel.

- The relief valve 56 in the pipe 57 leading from the pipe 19 to the condenser pipe 16 may be set to open under a certain pressure, so that should the' pressure in the still become excessive, the vapors may pass from the still direct to "the condenser without passing through the superheater. Should, however, the pressure of vapor in' the still, the conduit, and the superheater reach an extraordinary point, or should the relief valve fail to operate, the extraordinary pressure in the superheater will cause the vapors to force all the molten mass out of the duct or channel and themselves pass out beneath the edges of said duct or channel and up through .the molten mass into the cover 35, from which they may escape into the atmosphere through the vent 36, thereby preventing damage to the apparatus by explosion or otherwise. 1 i

The pressure required in, operating is just that which is necessary to cause the vapors to move with proper velocity through the coils and it is limited by the weight of a column of the heating material reaching from the bottom of the conduit to the upper surface of said heating material. I do not desire to be limited to any particular pressure but in actual practice a pressure between 4 and 16 ounces amply serves the purpose. "llhe temperatures employed may vary with material operated uponand the quality of the product desired and may conveniently vary between 570 F. and 1150" F.

According tomy invention I am enabled to provide for automatic pressure regulation or more properly speaking to maintain the pressure in the conduit substantially constant by'me'ans of the variation in the effective cross sectional area of the conduit for the reason that the amount of pressure in the still depends upon the amount of vapor above the liquid. As the capacity of the discharge pipe increases, the amount of vapor withdrawn increases and the rise of pressure is retarded thereby. Recognizing that the capacity of a pipe varies directly, as

its cross sectional area (friction neglected) it is obvious that a slight increase of pressure in the still and in the conduit causes a drop in'the level of the heating material in the conduit and a consequent increase in the cross sectional area, thereby increasin the capacity of the conduit. This increased How of the vapor from the still tends to diminish the accumulation of vapor in the still so that the automatic regulation at nearly constant pressure necessarily follows.

Having thus described m invention what I claim as new therein an desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is v I 1. In an apparatus for distilling hydrocarbon or like liquid, a vessel, an inverted duct or channel seated'in said vessel open length to the space in said vessel, a mass of sealing fluid contained within the vessel and immersing the lower portion of the duct or channel, a still, means for heating said still and said vessel, a condenser, conduits leading from the still to the duct or channel length to the space in said vessel, a mass of sealing fluid contained within the vessel and immersing the lower portion of the duct o channel, a still, means for heating said still and said vessel, a condenser and con duits leading from the. still to the duct or channel and from the duct or channel to said condenser, whereby variation in pressure of the vapors in the duct determines the level of the fluid in said duct and in said 'vessel to provide for variation of the cross section of the flow space, for the vapor, and

a vent for such vessel whereby the vapors ma escape upon completely expelling the sea ing fluid from said duct or channel.

3. In. apparatus for distilling hydro-carbon or other liquid, consisting of asuitable vessel, an-inverted duct or channel seated in said vessel, a cover forsaid duct or channel, a mass of molten fluid in said vessel immersin the lower portion of the duct or channe and the lower portion of said cover, a still in communication with one end of the duct or channel above the level of said molten fluid, and a condenserin communication with the opposite end of the duct or channel, also above the level of said molten fluid. 4. In apparatus for distilling hydro-carbon or other liquid, consisting of a suitable vessel, an inverted duct or channel seated in said vessel, a cover for saidduct or channel, a. mass of molten fluid in said vessel im mersing the lower portion of the duct or channel and the lower portion of said cover,

' a still in communication with one end of the said vessel, acover for said duct or channel,

a mass of molten. fluid in said vessel immersin the lower portion of the duct or channe and the lower portion of said cover, a still in communication with one end of the duct or channel above the level of said molten fluid, and a condenser in communication with the opposite end of the duct or channel, also above the level of said molten fluid, a vent for said cover, and an insulating cover for said cover. v v

6. In apparatus for distilling hydro-carbon or other liquid, consisting of a superheater, a still, a vapor conduit leading from the still to the super-heater, a conduit in the serpentineconduit in the super-heater and communicating with the conduit from the still, said serpentine conduit being expansible to vary the efi'ective cross sectional area thereof, a condenser, a vapor conduit leading from the super-heater to the'condenser and vcommunicating with the serpentine conduit and a by-pass containing a relief Valve for by-passing vapors from the still to the condenser whereby vapors may be conducted direct from the still to the condenser.

8. In apparatus for distilling hydro-carbon or other liquid, a still, a super-heater, a sealing fluid in the super-heater, a conduit open at its lower portion throughout its entire length and partially immersed in the sealing fluid, means for effecting communication between the still and the conduit, a condenser, means for efl'ectin communication between the condenser an said conduit,

the eflective cross sectional area of said conduit being variable bythe rise and fall of the sealing fluid in the super-heater, a conduit open at its lower portion throughout its entire length and partially immersed in the sealing fluid, means for eflecting communication between the still and the conduit, a condenser, means for effecting communication between the condenser and said conduit, the eflective cross sectional area of said conduit being variable by the rise and fall of the sealing fluid and to variations of pressure generated in the'still and a cover inclosing the conduit, said cover being open at its lower portion and having its side walls partially immersed in the sealing fluid.

10. In apparatus for distilling hydro-carbon or other liquids, a still, a super-heater, a conduit in said super-heater comprising an elongated tube open at its bottom, a sealing fluid in said super-heater in which the side walls of the conduit are embedded and means for exhausting vapor from the elongated conduit, the effective cross sectional area of said conduit being variable due to the rise and fall of the sealing fluid whereby a continuous pressure regulation in the conduit is affected.

11. A super-heater for use in distilling hydro-carbon or other liquids, comprising a vessel 'havin an inlet and an outlet, a removable inverte elongated duct or channel contained in said vessel and open at its lower portion throughout its entire length to the space in said vessel and a sealing fluid in said vessel immersing the lower portion of the duct or channel. i

' SIDNEY E. KELSEY. 

